VIJAYAWADA: With the youth of the city becoming increasingly dependent on third-party online food delivery portals, several entrepreneurs are venturing into the food business, with comparatively low expenditure, through ‘take away’ food stalls.
There are several restaurants and food outlets on food delivery portals that provide delicious food but when one tries to visit the place, a board saying ‘only take away’ might meet the customers. "I had ordered food from a 'Vijayawada Rice Bowl'. As everyone at my home liked the food, we planned to go there and eat one weekend. Upon reaching there we discovered that there is no dining facility and one can only parcel food," said P Mrudula, one of the city residents.
Owner of one such outlet, who wished to remain anonymous, said, "These delivery portals have proved to be a bridge between us and our customers. I always wanted to have my own restaurant, but constructing and maintaining one needs a large investment. Acquiring that much amount in a short span of time, and that also in the F&B (food and beverages) field is next to impossible. So my friend and I decided to try our hand in opening a takeaway outlet."
He further said, "One can start such take away outlets anywhere, be it their own homes or a rented place, we have rented a small place with two rooms. In one room, we have the menu, displaying the available food items on a particular day and the other room is our office, where we accept orders." He added that he set up his business with an investment of Rs 80 lakh, as against the requirement of more than Rs 3 crore for a restaurant.
The online portals also aid those, who want to attract the niche of homemade food lovers. "Junk food and other cuisines are available at several restaurants, but there are many people, who have migrated to the city and seek taste of homemade food. I wanted to cater to such persons and started ‘V Foods’. There are five female cooks and we have rented a house with a big hall for cooking on two stoves at the same time. In the other room, I handle online orders. Starting from two to three orders per day, we have reached nearly 200 orders per day in a span of just three years. All thanks to food delivery services," said V Foods owner Dinesh Kumar.